15/06/2026
An NHS Tayside Clinical Psychologist has carried out research looking at the meaningful impact of receiving an autism diagnosis, irrespective of age.
Dr Jamie Ferrie’s ‘Exploring Autism in Middle-to-Later Life: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Cognitively and Verbally able Autistic Adults’ highlights the importance of supporting people to reflect on their life with a new understanding of themselves.
Autism is commonly associated with being diagnosed in children and young people, however, increasingly adults in middle-to-later life are seeking diagnosis and support.
Despite increasing awareness of neurodivergence and autism in older generations, there remains little research in this area meaning the voices of older autistic people are often underrepresented and unrecognised.
Dr Ferrie explored the experiences of autistic people aged 40+, which involved screening more than 3,000 research articles and identifying 14 that were eligible for analysis.
This involved using a ‘thematic synthesis’ - a research method used to combine and analyse the findings of multiple qualitative studies.
The research identified overarching themes emerging from the experiences:
• Being autistic in a dominantly neurotypical environment leads some people to experience stigma, discrimination and increased isolation. Some then internalised these beliefs, which impacted on their sense of identity.
• Health services could reinforce ageist and ablest attitudes towards older generations, which could impact the opportunity for timely diagnosis and support.
• For some, a diagnosis offered power, validation, a shared language and way of re-evaluating life through a new lens. For others, a late diagnosis brought feelings of frustration, a sense of injustice for how life could have been if earlier diagnosis.
Dr Ferrie said, “It was important to consider how we as professionals involved in diagnostic assessments could better understand autistic older people to inform clinical services.
“The research highlights the meaningful impact of receiving a diagnosis of autism, irrespective of age. It also highlights implications for services involved in providing more timely diagnostic assessment and support that is neuro-affirming and meets the needs of an under-looked generation.
“This research will inform how we, as services, respond to the changing needs of older neurodivergent people experiencing mental health difficulties.”
The full report can be found in the comments...
